CIRSA Q1 Revenue Hits €623 Million as Debt Drops

CIRSA began 2026 with higher revenue, better profit, and a much lighter debt load, while new Peru online gaming taxes weighed on digital margins.

Good to Know

• CIRSA posted Q1 net operating revenue of €623 million, up 8% year-on-year.
• EBITDA rose 8.5% to €193.9 million, giving the company its 71st straight growth quarter outside the COVID period.
• Net financial debt fell by more than €500 million to €2.05 billion.

Retail Growth Carries CIRSA Through Peru Online Tax Pressure

CIRSA kept its 2026 targets unchanged after a strong first quarter, with performance already tracking toward the top end of full-year guidance. The Blackstone-backed gaming group expects €2.5 billion to €2.56 billion in revenue for the year, along with €800 million to €820 million in EBITDA.

First-quarter net operating revenue reached €623 million, up from €576.7 million a year earlier. EBITDA climbed to €193.9 million, while net profit rose to €44.6 million from €28.1 million in Q1 2025. Adjusted net profit also grew 32.8% to €69.9 million.

Growth came mainly from existing operations rather than deals. CIRSA said only acquisitions completed late in 2025, mostly in Spain, Peru, and Morocco, affected the year-on-year comparison. Excluding currency changes, revenue increased 9.5%, and EBITDA rose 10.8%.

Retail remained the main earnings driver. Revenue from retail operations grew 9.3% excluding foreign exchange effects, while EBITDA rose 13.3%. Spain led that performance, helped by slot upgrades, new games, technology improvements, and better venue productivity. The slot machine division in Spain increased revenue by 13.1%, while EBITDA jumped 17.8% to €64.3 million.

CIRSA also grew across casino markets. Casino revenue rose 8.3%, or 10.7% without FX effects, and EBITDA increased 8.2%. Peru, Colombia, Panama, and Morocco helped the division, while Mexico held up despite temporary closures earlier in the quarter.

Peru became a larger part of the group during Q1. CIRSA increased its casino estate in the country from 19 to 23 venues. Slot machines rose from 2,611 to 3,434, while gaming tables increased from 37 to 61.

Online gambling told a more mixed story. Turnover increased 22.4%, with online casino turnover up 23.9% and sports betting turnover up 19.7%. Revenue in the online division grew 9.4%, fully from organic growth. Even so, online EBITDA fell 11.9% to €21.4 million after the new Peru online gaming tax framework cut margins by about 539 basis points.

The balance sheet also improved. Financial expenses dropped from €52.5 million to €34.6 million after refinancing work, the IPO, and bond restructuring efforts lowered borrowing costs. CIRSA expects annualized financing savings of more than €60 million, with more savings possible after planned refinancing later in 2026.

Net financial debt fell to €2.05 billion from €2.64 billion a year ago, cutting more than €500 million from the total. Leverage also improved, dropping from 3.7x to 2.7x. Spain now provides just over half of group EBITDA, giving CIRSA a larger earnings base in its home market.

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